Looking Backward

What The Wave Said20Years Ago...

It was almost like watching a rerun of a horror movie earlier this week when a Brooklyn woman died on the Marine Parkway Bridge after her vehicle swerved over the center line and hit a car coming in the other direction. A week ago, two died and two were injured in a similar crash in almost the same spot.

Two teenagers disappeared in the raging surf at Beach 44 Street on the afternoon of June 20. Lifeguards were joined in a long search by units from both the fire department and the police department, but the teen’s bodies were not recovered by press time.

Work crews were once again trying to stem the flood at Seagirt Boulevard and Beach 31 Street. The flooding at that location has become an annual exercise and occurs at least two or three times a year.

The Peninsula Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to 20 calls last weekend, most of them from the annual Rugby Club at Fort Tilden. Fifteen players were treated for broken bones, contusions, a few fractures and at least two concussions. Club members say that it was a pretty typical year in terms of injuries suffered during the hard-played games.

More than 600 residents attended the installation of the executive board of the Good Government Democratic Club, in which New York City Comptroller Liz Holtzman installed president Lew Simon and other officers.

Metro Marine Ferry advertised two new services: It’s high-speed ferry will now run from its Metroport in Inwood, with a stop in Breezy Point, in time to get to Manhattan for dinner and the theater. In addition, the ferry will take viewers into New York Harbor for the annual Macy’s fireworks display.

Years Ago... 30

Why can’t the garbage cans in Beach 116 Street be emptied on a daily basis? After the Sunday beach crowds last week, the pails are at least two feet over the top with refuse.

Some people are calling it murder. That’s what many locals claim happened for the first time in 25 years in Neponsit last week. Police say that there is nothing new to report about the case, but they are investigating the possibility that the death of a young man was indeed a homicide.

The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority was one of the sponsors of the Rockaway fireworks 20 years ago. Since they just sold some property in Manhattan and raised the tolls on the bridges, wouldn’t it be nice if they once again sponsored the fireworks?

A few weeks until the Fourth of July and nothing special is planned for the Rockaway community, which is billed as a beach community. Shameful isn’t it?

40 Years Ago...

Fire Lieutenant Ray McDermott of Beach 90 Street, who is the new commander of the Daniel M. O’Connell Post American Legion, worked in The Wave’s pressroom prior to World War II. It was just 50 years ago that The Wave’s publisher, Hubert D. Murray, was commander of the post.

Several local workingmen have recently bought property in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. Some are planning for future retirement and others are calling it an investment.

There are contrasts on the local scene. For instance, one group of people were sunning themselves seemingly into oblivion while the nearby sidewalk and street was filled with litter yet, on the next block, people were on their hands and knees tidying up the street.

Corrosion of its base caused the collapse of a steel flagpole at Jamaica High School recently. Although there were no injuries, flagpoles of the same type at other schools, including Far Rockaway High School, are being replaced with non-corrosive aluminum.

Years Ago... 50

Changes in the community which are not included in the housing project plans will nevertheless be made because of the urban renewal projects. Already several local business places outside the project areas have been moved to new locations. Others are to follow.

Besides being one of the most attractive buildings in the neighborhood, the new funeral parlor of Denis S. O’Connor, Inc., on Beach Channel Drive at the corner of Beach 92 Street, will be completely air-conditioned.

Lou Tempelman, former proprietor of Lou’s Dairy, says he is finding business much better at his new stand on Beach 84 Street.

There was a great outpouring of people at St. Francis de Sales Church on Beach 129 Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard last Sunday in honor of Father Grogan’s silver jubilee.